Greetings and Salutations
Dateline:10/25/98
The Japanese are very fond of salutations and other such pleasantries. The Japanese day is filled with a wide assortment of pleasantries used for certain situations. This civil behavior is, oddly enough, limited to friends and acquaintances; strangers one meets are not extended the same civility (mind you, they are not treated rudely either). People outside of one's immediate social group are viewed as not being of any particular concern. This has led to the impression that the Japanese are an anti-social people. I am sure though, if one went to Japan and experienced the culture first hand, one would not find this to be true.
Greetings, and Daily Expressions
Examples:
(1) Ohayoo gozaimasu. Good morning.
One can also say just "Ohayoo".
This is casual, and should not be used with one's
boss. 
(2) Konnichiwa. Hello. Good afternoon.
(3) Konbanwa. Good evening
(4) Oyasuminasai. Good night.
Unlike English, it is mostly used before
going to bed.
(5) Sayonara. Good-bye.
People do not say "sayonara" when leaving their own home. "Ittekimasu"
is normally used. The response to "ittekimasu" is "itterasshai".
"Dewa mata" is also often used as "see you later", similar to the English
expression.
How about "see you tomorrow"? "Tomorrow" is "ashita" in Japanese. I think you
can guess what the the answer is: "mata ashita".
I hope you can practice these greetings. I am going to tell you one more phrase, "mata raisyuu". This means "see you next week".
